Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,630 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.22% of Northwest Natural worth $3,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NWN traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.90. The company had a trading volume of 146,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,188. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.55%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.